The invention disclosed herein relates generally to a system and method for scoring one or more searches conducted over a corpus of documents. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems and methods for generating and presenting a search score in a variety of contexts for a given user on the basis of searches that the user performs over a corpus of documents over a period of time.
Many web forums, such as message boards and the like, have implemented techniques for informing a given user of the experience associated with other users, as well as the given user himself or herself. For example, some web forums associate a rank with a given user that indicates how active the user is in the forum, such as a novice, intermediate or expert. The activity raking provides other users with an indication of the given user's activity, which may be useful in deciding whether to approach a user for advice, etc.
Another context in which ranking has played an important role is in massively multiplayer on-line role playing games (“MMORPG”). A typical MMORPG is an on-line game in which the user assumes the role of a character in a digital universe. One aspect of the digital character is a rank. Using the character, a given user explores the digital universe, interacts with other users and completes objectives, which results in the character's rank increasing. Other users utilize a given character's rank to establish assumptions about the character and how to proceed with an interaction. Also, the use of a ranking system in a MMORPG improves engagement and retention as users compete to outdo other players with increasingly higher ranks.
In comparison with other on-line experiences, conducting on-line searching lacks a mechanism for indicating a user's rank. When formulating searches over a corpus of document, such as a web search, users lack an indication regarding the quality of the searches that they are formulating. Users formulating searches also lack an indication of the quality of searches that other users are formulating, in addition to the quality of their searches vis-à-vis other users, e.g., a rank based on a search score. Systems and methods are therefore needed to provide a score to a user indicating the quality of the searches that they are conducting though interaction with a search engine, which may also be presented to other users of the search engine, as well as through the use of other applications. A scoring mechanism is further needed that improves engagement and retention with a given search engine.